Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Author at CMZoo

Mahali, a 20-year-old male giraffe at CMZoo, is showing signs of reduced mobility and range of motion. While his care team supports him with pain medications and a sand-mix stall to rest comfortably on each night, veterinary and animal care teams have made the decision to move into a mindset of providing hospice care for him. This is a difficult decision for his team.

“He’s still having more good days than bad days, and although we know how quickly that could change, we’re focused on giving him every possible bonus day he can comfortably have,” said Jason Bredahl, animal care manager in African Rift Valley at CMZoo. “That also means we have decided not to provide extreme medical intervention going forward.”

Mahali has benefitted from his medical team going to great lengths for him in the past. For many years, he voluntarily participated in training for hoof care, blood draws and even applying orthopedic shoes to his hooves. In 2017 and 2020, Mahali went under anesthesia to receive simultaneous multiple treatments for his reoccurring foot and leg issues. Those risky, meticulously planned procedures successfully helped him heal and return to a good quality of life.

“Without his most recent treatment, in 2020, we might not have had these last three years with him,” said Bredahl. ” Mahali is doing well, considering his individual challenges, but we know he won’t be here forever and his time may come sooner than later. Right now, we’re committed to making him comfortable, and providing opportunities to be as active as possible and social with his herd.”

Mahali takes oral anti-inflammation and pain medications – in yummy rye cracker-and-honey ‘sandwiches.’ His team tracks quality-of-life data markers that they discuss regularly to ensure Mahali is still able to do things that fulfill him as a giraffe and as an individual. The team tracks Mahali’s specific activities daily and overnight, so they can adjust medications or activity levels for him as needed.

“We want to see Mahali finding areas to stand and rest more comfortably, interacting with the herd, walking, eating, sleeping, lying down and getting up safely,” said Bredahl. “On days we see he’s a little stiffer, we might encourage him to stay in the barn on a nice soft sand-mix stall, and he may agree that it’s a rest day or he may decide to go outside. He still participates and moves to spaces when we ask him, but he’s still making choices in his care.”

Mahali’s care team says he’s still making them laugh with his antics, too. He may have slowed down as he has aged, but they still see a twinkle in his eye and respect his position in the herd.

“When he was younger, he was a very physical giraffe,” said Brehahl. “He was tactile in those days, and he would push other giraffe out of the way to position himself front-and-center with his care team. He’d pull on our shirts with his lips to get our attention, and to interact with us and get snacks. These days, he seems more content in his own space.”

Mahali’s keepers say he has become more discerning in his golden years, and he only accepts certain food items as training rewards. If they offer lettuce as an incentive, he spits it out with a seemingly intentional aim for the keeper who offered it to him. Then he huffs at them until they reset for a behavior that will earn him his favorite: rye crackers. They have to save the crackers for the big training asks, like curling his hoof on the hoof block so they can visually check his feet, but Mahali doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind them he’d rather not waste his time on lettuce.

“You’ve got to admire the guy – he knows his worth,” said Bredahl. “He’s a big giraffe and a big presence in the herd, and we’re grateful for every day we will have with him.”

Mahali is one of five giraffe in CMZoo’s herd over the age of 20 – four years and more over the median life expectancy. Nearly one-third of the herd is considered aging. Females Muziki (25), Amani (24), Twiga (23) and Lakeisha (23) are the eldest members of the herd, and all receive various levels of care for age-related issues, depending on their individual needs.

The median life expectancy for a giraffe, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is 16 years. Until recent data, which combines the median life expectancy for males and females, the AZA median life expectancy for a male giraffe was 14.7 years.

Back to The Waterhole

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo) and Toronto Zoo are still emotionally processing the tragic loss of 2-year-old female Amur tiger, Mila. Mila [mee-lah] passed away on Fri., Aug. 25, at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Mila moved to CMZoo in March 2023, after showing signs she was ready for her own space, away from her mother at Toronto Zoo. She came to CMZoo on a future breeding recommendation. Because Amur tigers are solitary animals, she never met CMZoo’s male tiger, Chewy.

“She was making such great progress with us,” said Rebecca Zwicker, animal care manager in Asian Highlands at CMZoo. “She was a feisty and intelligent tiger, and the team had been patiently and consistently training with her to help her settle in and feel comfortable in indoor and outdoor spaces behind the scenes. She was getting so close to being out where guests could see her. We were excited to introduce her to our community and for people to fall in love with her here, just as they had in Toronto.”

One thing delaying Mila’s introduction to the CMZoo community was the need to address a recently discovered and severe dental issue. This was not just a cavity; and it could not be left untreated, as it was advancing to her sinuses. Left untreated, infections like this can be fatal for animals.

The team had been working with Mila on several important husbandry behaviors that would allow her to live a life with lots of choice, autonomy and care at the Zoo. She was focused on shifting to different areas comfortably and returning to keepers when called. Once they realized she needed surgery to treat her dental issue, they prioritized re-establishing voluntary injection training that the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Care staff had previously established.

Thanks to this training, on Friday, she voluntarily received the injection of initial anesthesia, then she jumped up on a bench where she began to lay down and peacefully let the anesthetic drugs take effect. Less than a minute after lying down, she slipped off of the waist-high bench, causing a fatal spinal injury. Given the short timeframe from her lying down to her slipping off, it was impossible from a human safety standpoint to stop her tragic fall.

“She could have slid off from that height a hundred times and landed in a variety of other positions and been unaffected,” said Dr. Eric Klaphake, CMZoo head veterinarian. “The team quickly entered her den when it was safe and diligently tried for 40 minutes to give her life-saving care.”

“These are impossible life-and-death decisions being made in real time by a team that has dedicated their life to the care of animals. Do you anesthetize her despite the risks and give her the dental care she needs? Once you see her slipping, you wonder if you can safely get in there to stop a 270-pound tiger from falling completely. How fast can you safely go in and provide rescue attempts?,” said Bob Chastain, CMZoo president and CEO. “You can plan and plan and things still go wrong. Our team delivered exactly the right amount of drugs to a very calm tiger who had trained for this moment. We have successfully anesthetized countless tigers in this same den, and have never experienced an accident like this. We never take decisions to anesthetize an animal for a procedure lightly, and this is a tragic example of why.”

While CMZoo and Toronto Zoo teams work through the loss, CMZoo is focused on preventing this freak accident from happening in the future. Mila is the second female Amur tiger to pass away at CMZoo in recent years. In 2021, Savelii passed away due to complications during recovery from this important artificial insemination procedure. Their deaths are unrelated, but the fragile state of their species is glaring. It was after this death that CMZoo made a long-term financial decision to support tigers in their natural habitat as well as in the Zoo.

“It is sobering to know that no matter how tragic these events are, that we are losing tigers in the wild every day as these animals, and many like them, struggle to survive in a world where there are so many people and so few wild places,” said Chastain. “And that despite the best professional care that we give these animals, accidents can happen and will happen as long as there is a critical need for conservationists to help highly endangered species survive in human care and in the wild.”

“Watching Mila transform from a playful and curious young cub to an independent and often feisty young adult was an incredible experience for me, the Zoo team and the Toronto community,” says Dolf DeJong, CEO, Toronto Zoo. “She will be deeply missed by all, and while we feel certain the connections she made with guests will stay with them for a lifetime and were an inspiration to get involved in the fight to save this endangered species in the wild, we are deeply saddened by her loss”.

Amur tigers are critically endangered in the wild with only around 500 individual tigers roaming their native habitats. The numbers in human care, at zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in the U.S. and Canada, hover near just 100 individuals.

“We feel a huge responsibility for all of the animals in our care, and we especially feel for Mila, her current and past caretakers and the people in Toronto who loved her from her birth as the only survivor in her litter,” said Chastain. “Not only was she an internationally beloved individual who defied the odds as a cub and survived to adulthood, but she was here on a mission to save her own species.”

On Wednesday, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo said goodbye to Msichana [muh-SCHAW-nuh], a nearly 21-year-old female reticulated giraffe. After months of successful treatment for age-related issues, Msichana declined quickly over her last two days, and her care team made the difficult, but compassionate, decision to humanely euthanize her.

Msichana was well-known among CMZoo members and online fans, with her signature tongue-out appearance and her role as a companion to newborn calves and new members of the herd. She was born at CMZoo in 2002, and had one male calf of her own, named Kipawa, in 2013.

Because she was composed and confident, she was the herd’s welcome committee. New herd members would arrive and join her in a quiet part of the barn, and she was usually the first to meet newborn giraffe with their moms.
Being social animals, new giraffe found comfort in Msichana’s presence, and they could learn their way around the barn and yard by following her guidance as they settled in. When newborn calves were ready to start meeting other members of the herd, she was first – and even had sleepovers with moms and calves in the barn’s nursery stall.

“There were a lot of reasons to admire Msichana, but I think we’re most grateful for her contributions to our herd and to our knowledge of giraffe care,” said Savannah Woods, animal keeper in African Rift Valley. “She had a really special calm and nurturing demeanor. For calves and new giraffe, she made their first experience with us a safe one, and their relationships with her gave them the confidence to meet some of the more energetic giraffe in the herd. We could always count on Msichana to act as a ‘nanny,’ showing calves that other giraffe are friends, and helping new moms feel comfortable with their calves meeting other giraffe.”

Msichana’s role as a guide also translated to her relationship with her keepers. Most animals at CMZoo participate in voluntary husbandry training, and Msichana was one of the best. She participated in hoof care, stood for x-rays and allowed her team to take blood draws. She was an excellent learner, but, “Mishy Girl,” as her keepers called her, also taught her care team valuable lessons about training giraffe. Those lessons have shaped their training program and benefitted giraffe around the world, through the Zoo’s International Center for the Care and Conservation of Giraffe workshops and in-person giraffe trainings.

“She was definitely sweet and gentle, but she was also assertive,” said Woods. “I was lucky to have all of my ‘firsts’ as a giraffe trainer with ‘Mishy Girl.’ Because she was so clear about communicating what she needed from us or didn’t want to do, she set the bar for individualizing care for animals. She showed us that we can’t train one giraffe and presume we know how to train all giraffe. They’re individuals, and they need individual training and care programs. We owe a lot of our ability to read animals’ behaviors to what she taught us.”

Msichana was typically eager to train, but Woods also recalls being humbled by Msichana’s clear communication of her priorities.

“One day, a few guests were feeding her lettuce in the barn and after a little while, I asked her to come over to train with me,” said Woods. “She turned her ears back toward me, clearly hearing me calling her, and then turned and looked at me. She was weighing her options. It was an easy decision and she turned right back to the guests and stayed with them. When they left, she came right over to train, but she let me know who was in charge, for sure. I love that she knew she could make that choice, and that she knew she could say ‘no’.”

Because she was a strong and social ambassador with guests, Msichana has helped hundreds of thousands of people make special connections with her species, during her time on the mountain. She taught other giraffe how to do that, too, so her legacy as a teacher in the herd will live on through them and through the guests that come and fall in love with her species.

“I would call it a once-in-a-lifetime relationship, and she was a once-in-a-lifetime giraffe,” said Woods.

The median life expectancy for giraffe in human care, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, is nearly 16 years. Msichana would have turned 21 on Sept. 21, 2023.

About Giraffe Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categorizes giraffe as vulnerable to extinction, while two northern subspecies are considered critically endangered. Reticulated giraffe (the subspecies found at CMZoo) and Masai giraffe are endangered. According to recent reports, wild giraffe populations have grown 20 percent since 2015, with around 117,000 individual wild giraffe documented. But, there’s still work to be done.

Every visit to CMZoo is conservation in action. 75¢ from every ticket goes to the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program, which has raised more than $4.5 million for frontline conservation efforts around the world since 2008, including for giraffe conservation efforts.

Q4C helps support a multi-organizational giraffe conservation project in Uganda, called Operation Twiga. Operation Twiga began in 2016 to give giraffe a better chance of survival by establishing new populations of giraffe in safe habitats, in partnership with Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Uganda Wildlife Authority and others. Operation Twiga V (2020) was a continuation of Operation Twiga IV (2019), which CMZoo staff attended to assist with anesthesia and moving the giraffe from threatened habitats to safer locations. Both giraffe translocations contributed to populations in Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve, an historic habitat in Uganda where giraffe hadn’t existed for more than 20 years. Ongoing Q4C funding supports the teams who continue to monitor and protect these newly established wild populations.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926. Today, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, America’s mountain Zoo, offers comprehensive education programs, exciting conservation efforts and truly fantastic animal experiences. In 2023, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo was voted #4 Best Zoo in North America and CMZoo’s Rocky Mountain Wild was named #2 Best Zoo Exhibit in North America by USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. It is Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s goal to help guests fall in love with animals and nature, and take action to protect them. Since 2008, CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program has raised more than $4.5 million dedicated to frontline conservation efforts around the world. Of the 238 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one

HAVE A WILD NIGHT FOR A WORTHY CAUSE AT THIS FUNDRAISING EVENT – Cheyenne Mountain Zoo will host its final 21-and-up event of the summer, Tails, Tunes & Tastes, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Thurs., Aug. 31 – and tickets are going quickly. There’s nowhere else you can feed a giraffe, have a drink, enjoy live music and breathe in the fresh evening mountain air. This truly unique event is perfect for a girls’ night out, summer work celebration or date night.

This year, each ticket includes unlimited small plates, so attendees will enjoy delicious bites throughout the night, in addition to two included drinks, live music, visits with Zoo animals and access to cash bars.

Advance tickets are required for members and the general public, and they’re going quickly. Tickets are available now at cmzoo.org/tails. This event is for adults only, 21-and-up.

Attendees will have a wild night on the mountain for a worthy cause. 75¢ from every Tails, Tunes & Tastes ticket goes to CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, which has raised more than $4.5 million for frontline conservation efforts around the world since 2008.

What can you do at Tails, Tunes & Tastes?
– Your ticket includes two drink tickets for use at any bar throughout the event. Cash bars are also available.
– Enjoy unlimited chef-created small plates from our custom Tails, Tunes & Tastes menu at our eateries.
– Enjoy local musicians performing throughout the Zoo.
– Visit your favorite animals.
– Watch the sunset from the mountainside.
– Feed the giraffe herd ($3 per lettuce bundle or $5 for two).
– Ride the Sky Ride (weather dependent; $4 for Zoo members, $5 for non-members).

August’s Tails, Tunes & Tastes musical lineup:
– A Carpenter’s Daughter
– George Whitesell
– John Saunders Band
– John Spengler Duo
– Playing with Smoke
– Red Moon Rounder

Other event details:
– Advance tickets are required. No ticket sales at the front gate.
– Ticket purchase includes 2 drink tickets for use at any bar. Must be used the evening of the event. No outside alcoholic beverages are allowed.
– Unlimited small plates are included with your ticket.
– Most animal areas are open all evening.
– Live musical entertainment throughout the Zoo.
– Mountaineer Sky Ride (weather dependent) will have its last ride at 8 p.m. Be in line by 7:30 p.m. ($4 for Zoo members, $5 for non-members). Tickets available at Sky Ride cashier booth.
– Dress for a night of dancing, but remember you will be walking up and down the hills of the Zoo!
– Designate a driver, or better yet, don’t drive at all! Take a taxi or use a ride-sharing service like Lyft or Uber.

Tails, Tunes & Tastes is presented with support from Cordera and Your Colorado Springs Toyota dealers. Thank you, event sponsors!

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

The critically endangered Amur leopard cubs born at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in May have names! Allow us to introduce Basha [BAH-shuh] and Mango.

Generous CMZoo donors picked their names. Basha’s name is inspired by the name of the lead animal keeper in Asian Highlands, Basia. Basia and Anya, the cubs’ mother, have worked closely together since Anya arrived at CMZoo in 2015, and Basia is a passionate leopard conservationist. Mango was named in honor of a beloved domestic cat who inspired the donors’ dedication to wildlife.

Mango has slightly darker features, a distinct ‘M’ spot pattern across his forehead and more defined lines instead of individual spots on his face. Basha currently has a lighter face than Mango and is slightly bigger than his brother. Basha’s keepers have also seen a heart-shaped spot above his right eye. Their size comparisons and spot patterns could change as the boys continue to grow, but these distinguishing features are great ways to tell the boys apart for now.

The 10-week-old cubs have started exploring outdoor spaces with their mom, and guests might catch a glimpse of them in a not-easily-viewed part of Asian Highlands. When they’re a bit bigger, they will explore more visible spaces where guests can easily see them. We’ll let you know as soon as that happens.

In honor of their new names, CMZoo is offering a special limited-availability adoption package, complete with a leopard plush toy and fact sheet, certificate of adoption, and a photo of Mango and Basha. Visit cmzoo.org/adopt to symbolically adopt a cub before this limited edition adoption package runs out.

Amur leopards are widely known as the rarest big cats on the planet. The cubs are adorable, certainly, but their existence is hope for the future of their species. Only around 100 individuals remain in the wilds of far east Russia and China. Read more about these very important cubs, and watch video updates as they’ve grown over the last couple of months, at cmzoo.org/cubs.

About Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

CMZOO OFFERS TWO MORE DATES FOR FURRY FAMILY MEMBER IN AUGUST

The dog days of summer will soon be over, but Dog Days at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are back! Thanks to two successful test days in May and June, CMZoo is welcoming guests and their well-behaved dogs to explore the Zoo again, during two special afternoon and evening Dog Day events in August.

These two additional Dog Days, on Mon., Aug. 14 and Tues., Aug. 29, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., will help the Zoo continue to perfect the best way to give furry family members an opportunity to visit the Zoo that also works best for our animals and families who are visiting without dogs. At Dog Days in May and June, CMZoo staff closely monitored Zoo animal behaviors, guest accountability and visiting dogs’ responses. Overall, it was enjoyed by guests, their dogs and Zoo animals. During Dog Day planning, the team accepted that there would be challenges, as there typically are during the development of any new program or event, but Dog Days went even better than we could have hoped.

“We can support healthy animal behaviors by providing a changing environment with diverse enrichment opportunities,” said Rick Hester, curator of animal behavior at CMZoo. “When we do this well, we observe animals behaving in varied ways to achieve different goals, including some of the behaviors and outcomes that appear to be most important to their species in the wild environment.”

Service dogs are always welcome at the Zoo, so seeing a dog was not an entirely new experience for animals that live at the Zoo. But, service dogs behave differently than a family pet, and they visit in much smaller numbers.

Most Zoo animals did not behave any differently than they do on a normal day. Others were excited for a short time, and then returned to their normal behaviors. Some animals, like ring-tailed lemurs and meerkats, noticeably strengthened their bonds as a group.

“Meerkats are well known for their sentinel antipredator behaviors, observed in the wild and in human care,” said Hester. “During both Dog Days, we observed the meerkats working together, presumably with the goal to remove dogs from their view. The meerkats would huddle together and approach a dog, which is called ‘mobbing.’ All the dogs would eventually move away as their group would walk on and the meerkats, having accomplished their goal, would resume other activities like foraging for food. From the perspective of the meerkats, they were successful!”

African lions and mountain lions were active, seeking opportunities to stalk and even pounce at the guest dogs. Giraffe were more interested in their daily guest lettuce feeding. Rocky Mountain goats perched high in their rocky cliffs to observe. Kwisha, a Western lowland gorilla, watched the dogs intently and calmly, as did African penguins from their indoor underwater viewing pool. By the afternoon, most of the Zoo animals were back to their normal activities.

“We’re continuing to monitor the behavior of our animals closely to better understand how Dog Days impact their behavior,” said Hester. “Our observations so far suggest that Dog Days, at some frequency, could play a role in meeting our enrichment goals for many species and individuals at the Zoo.”

The team is hoping to provide fun visits for our guests and maintain a level of novelty with the experience for Zoo animals. With that balance in mind, the Zoo added only two more Dog Day dates to the calendar, for now. On Mon., Aug. 14 and Tues., Aug. 29, the Zoo will stay open late for Dog Days until 6:30 p.m. A limited number of Dog Day tickets will be available for purchase at 3:30, 4, 4:30 and 5 p.m. on both days.

Zoo buildings, attractions and amenities will be open until 6:30 p.m., and Zoo animals will be out and about, just as they are during normal daytime visits, with a few exceptions for safety. Every person and every dog coming to the Zoo must have an advance timed e-ticket, available now at cmzoo.org. Dogs must have a designated dog ticket to enter the Zoo. Human tickets will not be honored for dog admission. Guests who would prefer to visit the Zoo without the company of canines are welcome to visit during the day, before dogs’ first allowed timed entry at 3:30 p.m.

Giving guests amazing experiences and providing excellent animal welfare are CMZoo’s top priorities, so it has been especially rewarding to see this new offering hit both of those marks at the same time.

For more information, visit cmzoo.org/DogDays.

Back to The Waterhole

With each passing day, the development of our black-footed ferret kits seems to be on fast-forward, as they eagerly explore their surroundings and pick up new skills. Black-footed ferret (BFF) kits are about the size of a pinky finger when they are born. They experience major milestones, such as growing their baby teeth, eating meat, and opening their eyes, in their first 60 days of life.

Since 1991, we have successfully bred 605 BFF kits in our behind-the-scenes conservation center. We have partnered with other zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center and other organizations to breed, release, and monitor black-footed ferrets to increase their wild population.

Native to prairies stretching from Mexico to Canada, BFFs were thought to be extinct in the 1980s. During Western frontier explorations in the early 1900s, cargo ships from Europe and Asia inadvertently brought sylvatic plague to North America. The spread of the plague bacteria by fleas among prairie dogs (and other animals), combined with poisoning and eradication programs led by newly settled farmers and ranchers who saw prairie dogs as pests, drastically reduced the prairie dog population. Because prairie dogs are their main food source, BFF populations declined dramatically along with them.

On Sept. 26, 1981, a ranch dog named Shep caught a BFF. Shep’s catch led to the discovery of a small population of the elusive animals in Meeteetse, Wyoming. Since then, zoos, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center and other organizations have banded together to breed, prepare, release and monitor BFFs to increase the population.

Because they or their offspring could be released to the wild, every effort is made to keep the black-footed ferrets as wild as possible. So, they are not visible to CMZoo guests. Guests can see a BFF, named Rouge, in The Loft! Every CMZoo guest helps support this important program because 75 cents from every visit goes to Quarters for Conservation, which helps fund BFF conservation and other important efforts around the world.

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Nine-month-old prehensile-tailed porcupine, Mocha, recently made her home in My Big Backyard and is turning heads with her captivating snoot and unique tail. Prehensile-tailed porcupines are native to the forests of Central and South America, making their homes high up in the treetops. True to their name, prehensile-tailed porcupines have a prehensile tail, which means they can grasp tree branches and hang solely by their muscular tail.

Mocha was given her name by her keepers because of her mocha-colored quills and to promote sustainable coffee. Using sustainable coffee helps protect the native habitat of the prehensile-tailed porcupine.

Mocha is still young, but she has already developed a sweet disposition and gently takes food from her keepers during training sessions. She is curious, smart, eager and already excels in husbandry behaviors such as target training, crate training and scale training. Mocha also lets her keepers touch her, which is foundational as they develop a trusting relationship and expand her training to include regular health checks in the future.

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There’s a new face in Scutes Family Gallery! Aysan (ICE-on) is an 8-year-old female Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth who came to CMZoo to join 31-year-old male Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, Bosco, on a breeding recommendation.

Aysan and Bosco have settled in nicely together, and have even been seen touching noses and calmly interacting. Aysan’s keepers are working on building a trusting relationship with her and making the tree-filled atrium a comfortable new home for her.

Guests can see Aysan right away. Often, Bosco is on the right side of the atrium and Aysan is on the left side. To tell the sloths apart, look at their nails. Bosco prefers his nails to be longer than Aysan.

Back to The Waterhole

Last month, volunteers and conservation experts gathered in Wyoming’s Laramie Basin to release hundreds of critically endangered Wyoming toads to their wild native habitat. 200 of the toads were raised at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, including 10 little toads that CMZoo fans and guests named and followed online as they prepared for their big job: helping restore their species, which was once considered extinct in the wild.

Jeff Baughman, field conservation coordinator at CMZoo, has led the effort for the Zoo’s contribution to this multi-organization effort since 2008, along with partners from U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and others. The year-round effort to breed, raise and release the toads culminates each year in June, as he helps the toads – and thousands of tadpoles – make their debut in four designated reintroduction sites.

For many years, 1-year-old toads and tadpoles have been released each summer. This year, for the first time, 2-year-old toads were also released. This summer, CMZoo released 200 adult toads, bringing to total ever released to 1,425. The Zoo has released 46,651 tadpoles (yes, they count every single tadpole!), and 215 metamorphs and young toads over the years.

Baughman’s goal is for toads to breed and survive in the wild. The hope has been for the 1-year-old toads to overwinter and breed the next year. The 2-year-olds released this year could potentially reproduce this summer, so even if they don’t make it through the year, their offspring could.

“We have seen wild egg strands during surveys and releases, which is always so exciting,” said Baughman. “Maybe next year we’ll see even more egg strands, or we’ll see 1-year-old toads that hatched in the wild this summer. We’re going to continue testing ways to help more toads survive from year to year.”

Some of the toads are microchipped, so that any toads found in the wild can be scanned to see where they were born. Ten of those microchipped toads have names – pretty unusual for an endangered animal intended for wild release, but CMZoo social media fans chose a name theme for the ten tiny toadlets born last summer. Jim, Pam, Dwight, Michael, Phyllis, Oscar, Kevin, Angela, Kelly, and Stanley are now playing the most important roles of their lives, supporting their ecosystem or maybe, hopefully, bringing a new generation of toads to the Laramie Basin.

Each year on the day of the release, the team from CMZoo meets in the early morning hours to load the toads, already safely stored in tubs of cool and misty moss, from the conservation center into a van. That van will also transport CMZoo keepers, volunteers, board members and supporters on a nearly 4-hour drive to the meetup spot at a local fairground parking lot.

That’s where teams coordinate, learn how to safely handle the delicate toads, and pick up their waterproof boots before splitting up to see the toads off into the wild. After another drive, way off the main highway, and traipsing through knee-high waters, thick mud and mosquito breeding grounds, the teams arrive at the edge of a beautiful, crystal clear pond that’s brimming with life.

Pelicans, dragonflies, blackbirds, chorus frogs and more make their summer home in the basin, surrounded by the Medicine Bow and Laramie Mountains in the distance. In between steps – painstakingly placed to protect the well camouflaged toads hopping through the tall, wet grasses – the team stops to remember that wild places like this are well worth early mornings, boots full of pond water, mosquito bites and Denver traffic. Not to mention the daily dedication CMZoo’s conservation team and their partners have for the effort year-round.

“Being out in the Laramie Basin to release toads every year, and getting to bring volunteers who haven’t been before, really cements my passion for this ongoing effort,” said Baughman. “This is the only place in the world Wyoming toads live, and it’s up to us to help them recover. I always try to take a moment to reflect on the year we spent preparing these toads for release. It gets me excited for the year ahead.”

In addition to the toads released each year, CMZoo makes a second summer trip to the basin to release tadpoles to the wild. The toads and tadpoles are vital to the health of the ecosystem, serving as insect control, food sources for other creatures, and indicators of the health of their homes.

“I used to hear people asking why we put so much effort into saving a toad,” said Baughman. “Amphibians are facing the biggest mass extinction since the dinosaurs, and we’re their biggest hope. Without amphibians, insect populations would become out of control, and birds and other animals would lack an important food source.”

Pesticides, drought and a deadly amphibian fungus are the leading causes for the worldwide decline in amphibians. Chytrid fungus causes a skin infection that prevents amphibians from absorbing water and breathing through their skin, a process called cutaneous respiration. This often leads to organ failure and death.

For a long time, the approach has been to look for ways to address the fungus. Water adventurers can prevent the spread by disinfecting fishing gear, kayaks and other equipment used in water. But now, Chytrid is present in most wild waters, so Baughman and fellow scientists are looking for ways to help the toads become resilient to the fungus, or even adapt to it. That means intentionally exposing them to it.

“We think the tadpoles that hatch in Chytrid-infested waters might be more resilient to it than those born in Chytrid-free environments,” said Baughman. “Of course, introducing Chytrid to our breed-and-release facilities would pose a huge risk, because of the potential for it to wipe out entire populations. So, we need more wild-born toads to test the theory for us. In the meantime, we’ll continue building the numbers in the best way we know at this point, which is in breed-and-release facilities like ours, while we continue to test new methods.”

None of this work is possible without the support of CMZoo guests. Through CMZoo’s Quarters for Conservation program, 75¢ of every admission is dedicated to frontline conservation efforts like this, so guests can enjoy a day on the mountain with their favorite animals and support important programs dedicated to saving wildlife and wild places. Since 2008, when Q4C started, CMZoo’s guests and members have contributed more than $4 million to conservation projects worldwide.

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